you knew it was coming...best albums of 2011

2011 is about to wrap itself up and while, personally, it was somewhat of a shitty year, musically it was fantastic.  I was originally going to try and narrow it down to just 10 albums but that seemed to be an injustice to a lot of good albums that did drop this year, so i'm doing 20 instead.

Also, I hate narrowing this down, there will be a lot of albums that will be left out that probably would have made my top ten in other years, but I've got to cut it off at some point.

Wanna know something else pretty cool? There are a ton of albums that I've heard great things about that I have still not have had the chance to listen to, so I'm sure sometime in early 2012 I'll have a post about albums that should have been somewhere on this list.

And since I never really get to use my minimal HTML skills, i decided to do that here too....no idea why.

20
Kevin Devine ~ Between the Concrete and Clouds
one of my favorite lyricist, great mood throughout the entire album

19
	Manchester Orchestra ~ Simple Math
great hooks, great lyrics, great album

18
La Dispute ~ Wildlife
the whole "talk music" thing is really hard to pull off but la dispute does it beautifully

17
	Into It. Over It ~ Proper
another great artist with a knack for great, introspective lyrics and hooks

16
Four Year Strong ~ In Some Way, Shape, or Form
i was pleasantly surprised at how great this album is when i first bought it. if you've liked any of their previous albums, you'll love it.

15
	Saves the Day ~ Daybreak
saves the day is back! the 11 minute, 4 part opener track, Daybreak, is worth the price of the album alone. also, got to hang with these dudes about a month ago and have to say they're some of the most down to earth guys i've ever met

14
Trash Talk ~ Awake EP
the best 5 songs that clock in under 9 minutes; thrash metal at its finest

13
	The Appleseed Cast ~ Middle States
it's appleseed, of course it's amazingly layered and beautiful and of course it's good.

12
I Am The Avalanche ~ Avalanche United
if you take 6 years between albums, it better be good.  and yea, this thing is beyond good. listen to "brooklyn dodgers", just an awesome song.

11
	Bayside ~ Killing Time
bayside's best album yet. it seems that every member stepped up their musicianship a few notches for this album. super proud of chris' and jack's work on this album and anthony never fails in the lyrics department.

10
The Dear Hunter ~ The Color Spectrum
spend the money and get the complete collection (all 9 EPs), worth every penny.  just the idea, to write an EP based on the feelings of each color in the spectrum, is pretty intriguing and the fact that it was pulled off so well, i find amazing. Favorite EPs? Red, Black, White and Yellow...in that order but for real, get the entire thing.

9
	The Wonder Years ~ Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing
i've gotten back into pop-punk this year, after quite a few years off (minus an album here and there), and i can owe it this album.  this album reminded me of what's good about pop-punk.

8
Former Thieves ~ The Language That We Speak
I really wish I would've heard about this band back in April when this was released but I didn't know about them until the chariot show back in november but i love this album. reminds me some of the later poison the well stuff. sounds especially amazing on vinyl.

7
	Thrice ~ Major/Minor
probably the final album from thrice, which is sad but if you've gotta go out, go out on top and this is their best effort, which says a lot because i loved the alchemy index and beggars. it's one of the most honest albums that i've heard on the sad state of our society and yet is still a very hopeful/uplifting album.

6
Bon Iver ~ Bon Iver
i can't say anything about bon iver that hasn't already been said a million times over.  i find this album more beautiful every time i listen to it. i can't think of a more deserving artist to be nominated for 4 grammys.

5
	David Bazan ~ Strange Negotiations
when you've spent a career as pedro the lion, you have high expectations for every album that you drop. Bazan ignores those expectations and releases his best work since Pedro's Control.

4
Hands ~ Give Me Rest
i don't typically listen to overtly christian bands (i hate being preached to) nor sludge metal but i can't get enough of this album.  i've been listening to this album since it came out. every time i listen to it, i want to steal all of the riffs and use them in Merchants' songs.

3
	Balance and Composure ~ Separation
this was my number one at the halfway mark, back in the spring. it hasn't lost any of its luster, still an amazing album that i find on play at least once a week. it's albums like this that make the entire post-hardcore recent uprising worth paying attention to, plus they're young so i have a feeling their best work is still yet to come.

2
The Story So Far... ~ Under Soil and Dirt
if the wonder year's album restored my faith in pop-punk, this is the album that restored my faith that new/young bands could write good pop-punk songs. if i'm not mistaken, this is their first LP release and to start off this strong is impressive.  i'll keep rockin' this until LP 2 comes out, yea it's that good.

1
	O' Brother ~ Garden Window
it's not very old, especially in comparison to 2 & 3 but i'll be damned if it's not great. it's at the point were i subconsciously just put the album on when i'm in the car (and i'm always in my damn car, it seems). each song flows into the next, everything sounds connected without sounding like a regurgitation. it's impressive on a whole different scale than the other albums i've listened to this year.  there's a reason they tour with bands like Thrice, Manchester Orchestra and The Dear Hunter on a regular basis. nicely done, gentlemen, nicely done.

originally, i wanted to write a lot more about the albums but 20 albums is a bit more taunting than i originally thought it would be and free time is sparse for me these days so that's all you get.  i'll be the first to admit that there will be a lot of albums that i've missed so feel free to let me know.

Also, two more categories....

Record Label of the Year: No Sleep Records  5 of the 20 albums on the list are No Sleep bands and if I would've done a top 25, there would have been 6 or 7 of their bands (Touche Amore & Such Gold) in the list.  they continually sign good bands and their bands continually release fantastic albums.  Whatever their formula is over there, it's working.

Best New Music Site: ElectricMariachi.com Stumbled across this site looking for an album stream of some sorts and i'll be damned if they didn't have that stream (trapped under ice's new one, i remember correctly) but they have a ton of other album streams, many albums that i forgot were released and all. so yea, cool site and their player works on a mobile too.

There ya go, enjoy.  if you like my taste in music and haven't heard some of these releases, go pick it up somewhere. If you don't like my taste in music...i have no idea why you've read this, it's the internet, there are better things to read.

much love

X

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the art of atmosphere

first off, forgive the emo title but it'll make more sense further on down.  there have only been two albums that have been released in the past couple of weeks that i've felt like buying (yes, i buy all of the albums i talk about...it gets very expensive sometimes), and while they're both very different in their approach, both are phenomenal. 

first off, O'Brother released Garden Window digitally this week and within one listen it has become one of my favorite albums (if not favorite) album of 2011. now, let's bring this blog title back into play.  one of the best things about this album is the atmosphere they created throughout its entirety. expressing atmosphere within music is one of the hardest things to do (i think) and keeping that atmosphere throughout 60 minutes is impressive.  it's what allows an entire album to sound like one long, great song but still keep the listener intrigued from track to track. i'd imagine it's much like writing a novel, in where you have to keep the reader intrigued while continuing the story and offering new events along the way...granted, i've never written a novel so that's really just what i feel like it would be like.  my favorite tracks are Sputnik and Lay Down.  Sputnik features producer Andy Hull (vox/guitarist of Manchester Orchestra) providing some guest vocals, which add a nice element to the song. anyway, check out Sputnik and Lay Down below and i will re-iterate, this is an album that deserves to be listened to from front to back...it's impressive to say the least. 

last week, four year strong released In Some Way, Shape, or Form and while I had to some reservations about it, it's really good. like really, really good.  the couple of songs they released were definitely four year strong but a little more radio/ mass audience accessible than what i was use to from them. not to say that's automatically a bad thing, but it always makes me wonder what the rest of the album will sound like.  but have no fear, it has turned into my favorite album from them. it's accessible the way blink-182 and rise against are accessible which is more than ok with me.  the guitar work on this album is the best they've done (check out the riffs on stuck in the middle). nicely done guys, nicely done.

Also, if you are/were a Deep Elm records fan, you really should go like their facebook page.  they give away a free album (yep, the entire thing) every wednesday from their catalog.  last week was red animal war's "black phantom crusades" and this week is papermoon's "new tales". i never listened to papermoon before but they remind me a lot of old death cab, it's good, i'd recommend checking it out. 

if you have music suggestions or albums i may have missed, definitely let me know, i'm always down for new tunes.  

in other news, the band stuff is coming along nicely, have about a song and half to go before i think we'll be ready to start playing shows (it's been a year since i've played a show, i'm getting anxious to get back to it). we've got band photos saturday with a guy i met via craigslist who is trying to get into photographing bands (free pics!) so i get to stand there and try and look tough for a couple hours which is difficult when you resemble a hobbit more so than one of the american gladiators. hopefully the dude isn't weird though. could make for an interesting afternoon.  

hope everyone is doing well. much love.

X

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man, oh man, the chariot jams

so the whole band took a mini road trip up to columbia see the chariot show at new brookland tavern. yea, it was awesome.  i haven't been that impressed by a band live in a long time. so much passion, so much energy that it becomes infectious. also makes me impatient to start playing shows again, but alas we still need to hammer out a couple more songs...hopefully we'll be able to play a show before christmas though.

here's a short clip (it's from a phone so judge accordingly) from the chariot's set...love that band.

also,  former thieves played second that night and they were impressive to say the least. reminded me of poison the well a bit. i bought their album, haven't stopped listening to it since. 

and last but not least, listener opened up the show.  while, i completely understand if you don't like his stuff, i find it great.  it's spoken word/poetry with music...that's really the only way i know how to describe it.  i'm convinced he's a genius. and he's also a super nice dude, got to chat with him for a few while buying merch.  take a listen.

i've got two more shows to go to this week, both I'm stoked about. tThe Saves The Day/Bayside/I Am the Avalanche tour comes through charleston on thursday.  Got to meet Chris (drummer for Bayside) at Jenn's wedding so hopefully they'll get into town in time for us to go grab some food and a beer. and then Oh, Sleeper is playing charleston saturday, so I'll probably be at that.  their newest album is really good. Not looking forward to all the kids that'll be at that show though...oh well. 

other than the new Four Year Strong "In Some Way, Shape or Form"  that drops tomorrow (stream it on their facebook), there aren't many albums coming out, at least that I'm aware of, that I'm excited about so go listen to some of your classics after you pick up the new FYS. 

other than that, i'm alive and breathing. if you care about a life update, you've probably got my number so get in touch with me that way...it's much easier than trying to blog about it. and if you care about a life update but don't have my number, i'm not hard to track down on the interwebz. 

much love, 

X

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the classics

I've found myself listening to albums that I've grew up with a lot lately so i figured i would write up a blog on the albums i consider to be "classics" in my own collection.  there aren't many better feelings than falling back in love with an album from years ago.

Saves the Day ~ Stay What You Are

Songs ~ At Your Funeral, Nightingale 

At Your Funeral is, hands down, one of my favorite songs of all time. till this day, the ring out/vocal combination that kicks in at 0:40 gives me chills. The entire album is a top 5 album for me.  They've recently released Daybreak, which is a great and worth the 10 bucks or whatever iTunes is selling it for now, and that release reminded me to revisit Stay What You Are...haven't stopped listening to it since then. 

The MovieLife ~ 40 Hour Train Back to Penn

Songs ~ Ship to Shore, Kelly Song

There's not a lot I can say about this album except that if you've never listened to it, your life is significantly worse because of it. I Am Avalanche just released a phenomenal new album, which brought me back to the movielife, not sure how I got out of the habit of listening to them. This entire album just brings back the good days in high school of just driving around and listening to music. 

The Juliana Theory ~ Music From Another Room

Songs ~ Breathing By Wires; Piano Song

Yes, I'm aware that Emotion is Dead is the de-facto standard for anyone talking about Juliana Theory but Music From Another Room is my favorite release from the group.  Don't get me wrong, I love Emotion is Dead but every one of the songs on Music From Another Room are in my top ten from JT and there are 5 full songs on the EP...so do the math, 50% of my favorite JT songs come from this one EP. 

Brand New ~ My Favorite Weapon

Songs ~ Jude Law and a Semester Abroad; Mixtape; Shower Scene

A lot of people either don't know or just forget that Brand New's first album was a pop-punk album.  They're one of the few bands that have changed sounds on almost every album and still continue to amaze me. This album is definitely a favorite, a toss up for 2 or 3, depending on my mood, from the band (The Devil and God Are Raging Inside of Me is my numero uno).  Whomever pissed off Lacey, I feel sorry for you. 

There are plenty of other albums I could have thrown up here, but if I didn't draw the line somewhere, I'd be here all day. Other classics to note (in case you're bored and are just looking up tunes while reading this)...

Cross My Heart ~ Cross My Heart 

The Appleseed Cast ~ End of the Ring Wars

Dashboard Confessional ~ Swiss Army Romance (judge me all you want but this is an awesome album)

Midtown ~ Save the World, Lose the Girl

No Use for A Name ~ More Betterness

If you haven't heard any of these albums, do yourself a favor and go to Spotify or GroveShark or wherever you listen to tunes and listen to them, you won't regret it. 

In other news, thanks everyone for the kind words on the By Sea / By Land album, it's much appreciated.  Obviously all of the listens/downloads have tapered off by now but if you did like it, share it with friends.  Hef told me I needed to post more about it on facebook/twitter but I'd feel like I'd be annoying buuutttt if my friends post about it, it's quite alright haha. 

Notable New Releases

 Saves the Day ~ Daybreak

I Am the Avalanche ~ Avalanche United

The Gaslight Anthem ~ iTunes Sessions (worth the price just for the Baba O'Reilly cover alone)

Trash Talk ~ Awake EP

I hope everyone is doing well, much love. 

X

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By Sea / By Land: The Hathaway Sessions

Annnnnddddd it's done! Finally. It took longer than I had originally planned but Kyle was pretty awesome at coming up with ideas, layers, instruments, etc... that I just couldn't turn any of it down. I owe a lot of this recording to him. He breathed life into some of the older songs and almost all of the really cool vocal arrangements were his idea.  He's a good dude, glad to have him in my life. Otherwise, it's an odd, slightly eclectic collection of songs, spanning a few different genres.  Guess that's what i get for listening to such an odd collection of music.

So feel free to go download it, give it a few listens, recommend it to your friends, etc... I hope you like it, cause I'm really proud of it, but if you don't, that's ok too, just act like you do so your friends will think it's the cool thing to be listening too.

And thanks to everyone for the kind words and encouragement to get it done, especially you hef, it's greatly appreciated.

I created a facebook page, so go "like" it. https://www.facebook.com/byseabyland

Download/listen to it at the bandcamp site: http://byseabyland.bandcamp.com

Next up, I've already gotten about 3.5 new songs written, that are a slightly different style than what's on this album. I'm also toying with the idea of writing an EP about two of my favorite books, Maniac Magee and The Giver.  That'll be an entirely new type of challenge, to write songs that don't necessarily reflect something in my life but I think it'll be a fun, little project.

Anyways, I hope whomever of you listen/download it, enjoy it. Much love.

X

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[UPDATED]too much good music

In the past two weeks, a ton of really good music (and one rather disappointing album) have been released.  It's been one of those weeks were I have no idea what to listen to because it's all good.

Thrice ~ Major/Minor
For Fans of: Thrice....they've released 8 albums, you should know what they sound like by now
Listen to: Promises, Anthology

If I did some sort of rating thing, I'd give this 100 stars out of 10, it's that good.  I absolutely love this album and this band.  They're one of the few bands that can consistently merge multiple styles in one album and nothing seems out of place, which is a lot harder feat than most people may think. Now, if you didn't care for their last release, Beggars, then this may not be the album for you but Beggars is one of my favorite albums of all time. Dustin's lyrics always find a way to become personal for me and their musicianship on this album shows that they haven't become complacent with their standing as one of the most solid bands around. Granted, this band could collectively fart in a jar, put it on iTunes, and I'd probably buy it...i believe they call this being a "fanboy", a title I'm more than okay with.

Our word is so faint and feeble, broken by the slightest breeze or breath. Our hearts are, they're so deceitful, sick and filled with lies that lead to death. 

La Dispute ~ Wildlife
For Fans of: mewithoutyou; listener
Listen to: Harder Harmonies

Their new album is streaming on their site, www.ladispute.com, and i've found myself going back to it daily. This is very much the spoken word/music mash-up that I only thought that mewithoutyou would ever be able to pull off but la dispute do it with an aggression/passion that I haven't heard in a long time.  Go give it a few spins, you won't be disappointed. Below is a lyric video of their single, Harder Harmonies...I love everything about his writing.

"

And all the ones who seem to fit the best into the chorus, never notice there's a song. And the ones who seem to hear it end up tortured by the chords when they fail to find a way to sing along."

Ok, those are the only two in-depth reviews I have time for this go around but here are a few more releases that are of note. I will also note that No Sleep Records is becoming one of my favorite labels, just consistent great band after great band.  Balance and Composure, The Wonder Years, Into It. Over It, La Dispute, Former Thieves, etc...go to their site and pick up one of their free samplers, more than worth the few minutes that'll take.

Also, the Of Monsters and Men album that I mentioned last week and that was released last week, only dropped in their native Iceland (seems that way anyway) so I'm still waiting on a US release date to hear everything and throw it up here but I have a feeling I'm going to like it a lot.  And Jamie N Commons put two new songs on his soundcloud so go check those out. 

************UPDATED**************
This is why I shouldn't rush these blog posts, forgot albums I had every intention of mentioning.  Also, after giving the new Maylene album a few spins, I've changed my mind a little so I've re-written my statement.

Into It. Over It ~ Proper

Maylene & The Sons of Disaster ~ IV (this was originally my disappointing album, but no longer. After making myself listen to it a few times, I get it now.  No, it's not my favorite album but it's really a natural progression for Maylene.  A couple of songs miss for me but overall, not as bad an album I thought on the first spin.  It's southern rock, not southern metal like their old stuff...guess that's what threw me off.)

Mastodon ~ The Hunter
Blink-182 ~ Neighborhoods
Wilco ~ The Whole Love
*************************************

In over news, the acoustic album is close to being done, for real.  It's been a busy couple of weeks so Kyle and I haven't had a chance to wrap it up but I need to redo vocals on one track (because i sometimes do this weird wavy thing with my voice without realizing) and then it'll be final mixing and mastering and then I'll release it to the internet and see what happens. 

Hope everyone is doing well, much love. 

X

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on the lookout & notable releases

it's been a while since i've done a post just about music so here's a long overdue update on stuff i've discovered.

i'm going to point out three singles that are currently making their way through the interwebz for albums that have yet to be released and there was a lot of really good albums released this week so i'll point those out.  hopefully give a few of you something new to listen to while drinking your morning coffee (if you don't drink coffee, no worries, you can still listen to them).

Artist: Jamie N Commons

Song: The Preacher
Album Release: No Idea

For Fans of: Murder By Death; ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead

The Preacher by Jamie N Commons

Did you just listen to that? Jesus man, how does a British dude channel country better than 99% of the country bands in States? Such passion, such an awesome voice so many layers. And if you've ever wondered why I'm just now getting around to releasing my acoustic stuff, it's because of songs like this...I hear songs like this and realize I need to go back to the drawing board...too good. If the album is half as good as this song, it'll be in my top 10 of all time.

Artist:  Of Monsters and Men

Song: From Finner

Album Release: 9/20/2011 ~ My Head is An Animal

For Fans of: Mumford & Sons; Young the Giant; Edward Sharpe; Florence + The Machine

The harmonies this group pulls off are impressive and it's such a feel good song. Plus, hand claps and tons of instruments/layers will normally win me over. Listen to this and try not to tap your foot along to the bass drum...yea, you can't. 

Artist:  Trash Talk

Song: Awake

Album Release: 10/11/2011 ~ Awake

For Fans of: Ceremony; Trapped Under Ice; Municipal Waste; This is Hell

So this may very well be the greatest minute and a half song I've ever heard.  Not sure if it's the entire song or just a long glimpse to get people pumped about the EP but either way it worked. I never listened to Trash Talk before this but I've found myself going back through some of their old stuff because of how much I liked this song.  The song makes me want to punch something though (which I think is the point) so I have to keep my listens throttled a bit. And how awesome is that intro?

Ok, so there ya go, three singles for albums not yet released, i'm sure i'll buy all of these at some point so they're make their way back through, but check em out for yourself. 

Also, notable releases for this week are:

Kevin Devine: Between the Concrete and the Clouds

Blind Pilot: We Are the Tide

Polar Bear Club: Clash Battle Guilt Pride

Saves the Day: Daybreak

I bought all of those this week, they're all worth it. If you have Spotify, just listen to the albums on there a couple of times and see if you like them.  If you don't have Spotify, I believe the site allows you to request an invite and if that doesn't work, I may be able to get you an invite. 

X

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twist and turns and unknown roads

so maybe i have a tendency to speak too soon, cause whenever i get my hopes up about something, it gets slammed down pretty quick. bearhugger, at least as it was at my last post, is no more. received an email on monday that ryan, the other guitarist, was moving to seattle with his fiance....right then. as in, he was somewhere over the mississippi i think. such a weird turn of events.

the fact that him and his fiance made a life decision that they thought was best for them, doesn't bother me. waiting until you were out of the state to tell your bandmates, that bothers me a lot. he tried to make it sound (in the email) like everything happened within the span of 12 hours or something, but he had to have at least some inkling that he may be moving. we had practice last wednesday, he could have mentioned something then. he left all of our stuff at the practice space (his house) and said there was a key under the mat....nice touch. if he says something along the lines "hey guys, there's a chance we may be moving to seattle", then everything is good. it still would've sucked, don't get me wrong, but i would've said "well that blows, i'm gonna miss ya man" and then helped him pack up his shit. so moral of the story, there's a right way to do things and there's a wrong way and then there's the worst way...he chose the worst way.

the remaining four of us have already decided we're going to move on without him, which leaves me as the only guitarist. which is a pretty daunting/intimidating/terrifying idea to me. i've never really considered myself a guitarist and up until this new line up, have only played bass in bands. but it's a new challenge and i'm going to try and keep looking at it that way. i already feel the pressure that i need to write all of these songs but kyle, brian, and jared all play guitar and can write so i'll need to keep reminding myself that it's not all on my shoulders.

in other news, went to a show saturday to listen to a band called meet the sky...reminds me of copeland....and to hang out and get to know jared better. had a great time, good laughs and the band was pretty good. jared had a bday cookout on sunday so i went all the way out to john's island, which is gorgeous but a bit of a hike, and had a blast. good to know, at 27, i can still make friends. so that's two parties in three weeks where i didn't know anyone, still went, and had a good time. i guess if i keep doing it, as the invites come, it'll be good for me and get more comfortable. plus i'd have a hard time thinking that jared, his fiance, or any of his other friends could make someone feel out of place, really good people. also, jared's fiance is in the local roller derby league, which is awesome, so i'm going to go to their next match sometime in october. maybe ellen page will show up.

check out thrice's new album major/minor here, only the vinyl is out now but you can listen to it over at Groveshark, love that band. also, been listening to cross my heart and pop unknown a lot lately, oldies but goodies.

ok, that's my life update. hope every one out there is doing great. love you.

p.s. if you remember my last post which talked about the awesomeness of Tim, here's a tattoo benefit going on g'boro for anyone that wants to set up an appointment. i haven't decided if i'm going to be able to get up there that weekend, since it's on a sunday, but hopefully i can work it out. here's the facebook event link for more details, Often Awesome Tattoo Memorial Benefit

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Often Awesome and an Overall Life Update

It's been a little while since my last post, a lot has happened and a lot has stayed the same...guess that's about par for the course.

First, i fell compelled to call attention to the passing of an insanely inspiring dude, Tim LaFollete. Tim had ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. I only had the pleasure of meeting Tim on a few occasions but he's been a great friend to a lot of my close friends (Mark, Joel, Josh, Seth, etc...) so even the first time i met him, I felt like I knew him. if you're familiar with the NC music scene, you may know him as the bass player from Kudzu Wish...and if you're not familiar with Kudzu Wish, you're missing out. Anyways, after his diagnosis, instead of being depressed and feeling sorry for himself, he along with friends and loved ones, started Often Awesome, a web series helping bring some light to ALS and the struggles of those that suffer from it. Go to the site, watch some of the videos, get inspired.

For those that may read this and don't know me, yes, I can be sad at the passing of someone I don't know that well. No, it's not the same type of sadness that I felt when jeanna, adam, or the other friends that I've had to bury (sadly too high for being only 27) but a sadness that this world lost one of the people that were actually trying to make it a better place. Tim's story is one of those stories that remind you to live life looking forward instead of looking back.

Ok, in other news, the acoustic album is close to being complete. It managed to morph itself from an EP to a LP, which is alright. Kyle is awesome enough and patient enough to let me work through the songs and keep recording as many songs as I feel. But, we have one song left to do, then some mixing...probably a few re-recordings (mainly vox cause lord knows i'm not a singer) and then it'll be out for the world to judge as they see fit. I'm fighting the urge to post demos on a daily basis. I'm proud of the songs but I'd also like people to hear a couple of the songs fresh, without hearing any version of it before so I'm going to hold off. If you really want to hear something, and you have my email, let me know and I'll send you something.

Also, BearHugger is back in action! I'm stoked on it. It's been hard to find a drummer in this town but I think we've found a dude that's excited about the material and excited to play it so for the past couple of weeks we've been working with him, re-learning the old songs, and writing new ones. It's been fun. While I enjoy the acoustic stuff, I really love playing metal...especially live. Hopefully, by the fall we'll be back playing shows on a regular basis. We're also re-recording the old songs so when i'm not recording the acoustic album, i'm at the studio there. Lots of studio time.

Started going back to jujitsu and I'm pretty rusty (10 months is a long time to be away) but I'm enjoying it, even when I'm losing all the time. I got to hang with Nicole and see Bella a couple of weeks ago, which was nice. Bella is growing up entirely too fast. But she still rocks the Zeppelin shirt I got her like two years ago and her favorite movie is Poltergeist...so a pretty awesome four year old. I went to a party this past weekend where I knew beforehand I wouldn't know anyone there and had a great time (happy bday Brandy). Normally, I wouldn't do this but it's nice to get out of your comfort zone from time to time plus Brandy always invites me to social events and I never go, but I plan on changing that.

So that's my life update. Lots and lots of music and writing, friends, jujitsu and just overall trying to stay busy. Busy helps me deal with my own personal crap in chunks instead of all at once and that makes it easier for me to think things through logically. May possibly add more stuff into the schedule if possible, I still have a free night or two a week...maybe some volunteer work or something if i can find something I think i'll enjoy. Who knows. Still, kind of working on moving to Charlotte, haven't been applying to any new jobs but if something came my way, I wouldn't be against it.

Music recommendations (promise I'll do a full on new tunes blog soon): Stray From the Path ~ Rising Sun; Beirut ~ The Rip Tide; Pentimento ~ Wrecked EP

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moniker change and loner status and being labeled a "nice guy"

so i've spent the past two nights recording some songs with Kyle. It's going well, even though last night was cut short by lightning. there's still some mixing that needs to be done but "lies dipped in gold", "cynical", and "nostalgia" are all recorded. my original idea was to add a bunch of layers but now that we've actually begun recording, and having a chance to listen to the songs a little closer (having the same song on repeat for an hour, even if you wrote it, can be irritating), i think i'm going to keep them simplified. With the new EP, will be a moniker change. I'm retiring Urban Electric Company and going with By Sea / By Land. Kyle informed me that UEC sounds more like house music and I'd have to agree. I like the name, but just didn't fit the style. I've already changed the soundcloud so any links in previous posts won't work. As of now, I'm going to call the EP "The Hathaway Sessions" because, I live on Hathaway Dr and I wrote all of these sitting inside the music room at my house. Makes sense to me. Hopefully, after I get back from Baltimore next week, Kyle and I can wrap up these last song or two and I'll get it out to the world.

also, on a completely separate note, i've realized I am, in fact, NOT a loner. a simpleton yes but not a loner. i've called myself a loner for so long that i had become to believe it but the fact of the matter is, i love being around my friends. i don't care for big crowds or doing anything "big" (i.e. harbor cruise) all the time but if i could sit around every evening with kyle, andy, dj & lori, the hefs, etc..., i'd be more than ok with that. or sit around in a bar and have a couple of drinks, completely down. i don't prefer to be myself, it's just kind of how my life has worked out. i'm ok with me time, but i rarely turn down an invite to go do something so i can sit around by myself. plus being around people i care about, really helps with the whole overactive brain thing that i mentioned in the previous post. just because a lot of people annoy me (looking at you ed hardy shirt dude) doesn't make me a loner, it makes me picky, that's all. there are plenty of labels that can be applied to me, some i wish i could change, others i'm glad to have, so there's no need to give myself labels that don't actually apply.

speaking of labels, a friend of mine (chick) informed me for the millionth time in my life that i'm a nice guy and that girls don't like nice guys. ok, cool, whatever. one, that makes no sense at all, who wants to be with a douche? and yes, if you ask me to do something for you, more than likely i'm going to do it, but i expect the same in return (even though my pride rarely allows me to ask for help) so i see no issues with that. but it is what it is and i'd rather be labeled as a nice guy a billion times over than ever be accepted as a douche/shithead/asshole dude. plus, i don't really think i'm that nice. maybe in comparison to today's selfish, fucked up society, i am essentially part gandhi haha. ok, that's a stretch. but really, i'm not that nice, just not a complete shithead.

anyways, rant is over. hopefully i'll have the EP up in a couple weeks. if you really only read this for the music suggestions go pick up Polar Bear Club's new EP "The View. The Life", The Story So Far's "Under Soil and Dirt" and Sainthood Reps "Monoculture". There ya go, new tunes.

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products of an overactive brain and then the rest of life

my brain never seems to shut itself off. i wake up multiple times in the night with things already running through my head. it's annoying, sometimes i wish i didn't have it and i could just relax and not think about things that have or haven't happened (yes, i stress myself out over things that may never even come to fruition). my friend leah believes it to be a curse for us that have some sort of creative side (art, music, etc...) and i'd have to agree, my overactive brain does help me write music but fuck...give me a break, would ya?? anyway, enough of that.

saw bon iver this past friday. such a bittersweet show (if you know me, you know why), he was incredible though. definitely happy i got to see him at least once in my lifetime. i was able to record a couple of songs on my phone, Holocene and The Wolves (Act I and II). They turned out well for being recorded on just an iPhone, using the voice recorder thing. they're at the bottom of the post for those that want to listen. I recorded skinny love too but that was his final song of the encore and you couldn't hear much with everyone singing along, yelling, etc... such an amazingly talented songwriter/composer.

i'm still writing enough to warrant looking into owning a paper company. i shouldn't care anymore but i still do, so until that changes, i'll keep writing as much as necessary. the good thing to come from all of the writing is that i've written two songs that i'm proud to call mine. i'm still working out the recording aspects of one, but a rough demo of the other is up on the soundcloud page and i'll put it below in case anyone wants to peep it. i plan on adding a lot of layers to it (banjo, bass, keys, possibly harmonica) so hopefully in the next couple of weeks it'll take shape. also, did an acoustic cover of bonnie raitt's "i can't make you love me". bon iver did a piano ballad version on his calgary single's release (and a fallon appearance as well) and ever since i heard it a couple of months ago, i wanted to try and do my own little version. fyi...his is a ton better.

my life is still a roller coaster, can't seem to focus on where i really want to go from here. thinking about heading west (i could transfer to san diego easily) or possibly out of the country or maybe just back to charlotte. who knows, they all have pros and cons. i've also realized how spot on city and colours "little hell" is in regards to me, my life and the way i process/think. it's always nice to find a song like that, makes you feel like someone else, somewhere goes through what you go through.

anyway, enjoy the tunes. constructive criticism on my stuff is always welcome. you can criticize the bon iver songs too if you want, but you'd be dumb to want to change any of it.

Bon Iver - Wolves (Acts I and II) Live @ Raleigh Amphitheater by Urban Electric Company

Bon Iver- Holocene (Live @ Raleigh Amphitheater) by Urban Electric Company

Lies dipped in gold by Urban Electric Company

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oh life...

so the past week and a half has been a roller coaster of sorts. i've written this blog post a couple of times and then promptly deleted it. it's not that i haven't wanted to write, it's actually all i've done, just didn't want to write a blog post. but here's a quick life update.

brianne and i are no longer together, she felt she needed time a part to work on herself and even though it sucks and i miss her, i'll respect the decision (don't really have a choice i guess, but you know what i mean) and give her the space she wants.

had an interview for a job in charlotte finally. not sure if it's something i want to do, some of it seems alright but a lot of it seems like it really wouldn't challenge me at all. granted, they have to offer me the job first so not going to get too ahead of myself. hopefully though this will at least get the ball rolling and i can start having more interviews.

i got to see bayside live, finally. they've been one of my favorite bands for a long while and have been on heavy rotation for the past couple of weeks. they didn't disappoint, played great songs from all of their albums and so much fun to watch play. it was nice to be able to forget about life for a couple of hours and just enjoy live music. plus mark came down from g'boro so we got to hang for a while which is always a good thing.

i've been writing a lot. at least 2-3 pages a day of just free writing. i've found that it helps me focus my song writing to be of a more concise, central theme/idea instead of all over the spectrum like it has been in the past. plus it's a great way to write out emotions, feelings, thoughts, fears, etc... without worrying about syllables and melody and whatever else. just get it all out there on paper and make sense of it later. i wrote about 5 pages yesterday since i had a couple of hours to kill in a starbucks before ryan and ash got home and i think i've got at least a couple of songs in all of that mess.

i think i'm going to start going back to jujitsu soon so i'm not just sitting around every evening and kyle and i have been getting together to write new metal songs a couple of times a week. when that's not going on, i'm writing my own music. trying to stay busy as much as i can.

2011, you've been one hell of a roller coaster and we're only seven months in...

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ten albums worth owning so far in 2011

since it is july and therefore half of 2011 is over, there are top ten lists coming out every where you look so i figured i would add to the list. there has been a surprising amount of really good music that has come out since january so narrowing it down to just 10 was more difficult than i would have originally thought.

10. The Wonder Years ~ Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing
A really good pop-punk album from a completely underrated band. hopefully 2011 will give them the recognition they deserve. surprisingly, the first show i played in charleston was opening up for these guys...pretty sweet.

9. The Swellers ~ Good For Me
i've already written about this album in a previous post, so instead of reiterating every thing, check it out here

8. Iron & Wine ~ Kiss Each Other Clean
another great album by another great artist. sam beam never disappoints, however, this album doesn't quite have the repeat power that his other releases have had on me. still better than 99% of the releases this year.

7. Manchester Orchestra~ Simple Math
i was really looking forward to this album, and they didn't disappoint. this is not "mean everything to nothing" part II and i'm glad. i really loved that album but simple math is a much more personal album. plus they have one of the coolest music videos i've seen in a while.

6. David bazan ~ Strange Negotiations
he's since dropped the pedro the lion moniker but his songs are even better since. this album was a huge step forward from curse your branches...and that album would've made my top ten for 2009.

5. The Dear Hunter ~ The Color Spectrum
i've already written about this album in a previous post, so instead of reiterating every thing, check it out here

4. Glassjaw ~ The Coloring Book
glassjaw's "chinese democracy" finally sees the light of day and it's well worth the wait. it's much more ambient than previous albums (think more deftones) but damn if they can't pull it off well.

3. Bayside ~ Killing Time
another completely underrated band who have consistently put out great album after great album. i love the way anthony writes and how every song seems to apply perfectly to some aspect of your life. killing time may be their best effort yet.

2. Bon Iver ~ Bon Iver
i'm sure you all thought this was going to be my number one...fooled ya! since i've already expounded upon the greatness of this album here, i won't go through it again.

1. Balance and Composure ~ Separation
damn i love this album. i heard a lot of good things about it a few months back and i listened to a few tracks online and instantly loved it. i can't count how many times i've listened to it, even months after it dropped i find myself returning to it on a daily basis. it's a pop record without being a pop record, a punk record without being a punk record and a hardcore record without being a hardcore record...it's one of my all time favorites.

notable mentions: cave in (white silence), taking back sunday (taking back sunday), thomas giles (pulse), appleseed cast (middle states)

obviously, this is just my opinion and are albums that consistently make their way back into my rotation well after their drop dates. feel free to share any albums you enjoy or just crucify me on my picks.

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tunage tuesday?

so i've realized that i am a major source of new music for a lot of my friends, or just music in general, not necessarily new music. i know a few of them would never own an album past blink 182's "dude ranch" if i didn't shove music down their throat (looking at you hef, yes i know you're reading this).

ok, maybe that's a bit of a stretch but still, i spend a lot of time every week recommending bands to friends or telling one if some band's new album is any good so i decided every week, i'll try to mention a few bands that i've discovered or can't take off repeat.

this won't be day specific but i'm gonna use alliteration for the title whenever possible...because this is my blog and i can do what i want.

and at once i knew i was not magnificent, high above the highway isle i could see for miles, miles, miles ~ holoscene
band: bon iver
album: bon iver
what i think: if you know me, and most of you do, you had to know this was going to be on here. i'll admit, i have a man crush on justin vernon's songs and there is nothing on this album that disappoints. this album is everything you loved about for emma, forever ago plus so many extra layers. each song builds on itself and if you happen to be a musician of any sort, you'll appreciate the complexity of the songs all on their own. i'm still processing everything this album has to offer but i listen to it at least once a day and love it more each time. watch the jimmy fallon performance (link below) and you can see the layers and the impressiveness of this dude's vision.
listen to: perth, holocene (link to performance on jimmy fallon)
for fans of: bon iver (i can't think of anyone else out there that sounds like him)

really this is all catastrophic, we're tethered to the hull of a sinking ship ~ filth and squalor

band: the dear hunter
album: the color spectrum
what i think: the color spectrum is a collection of nine eps(black, white, red, blue, indigo, yellow, green, and white), which is a really cool concept btw, and from what i've read he wrote the four or five songs for each ep trying to describe the emotions that are normally associated with each color. i really didn't listen to these guys at all until i came across the video of we've got a score to settle, featured on the red ep. anyway, i listened to we've got a score to settle entirely too many times and so then i listened to the rest of the red ep and then I listened to the Black EP and I was hooked. Yea, I spent the 35 bucks on all nine eps and have no buyer's remorse at all. it's fantastic and covers the spectrum (see what i did there??) on musical styles without any song feeling out of place. the notes this guy hits are equally impressive (must be the beard).
listen to: we've got a score to settle (red ep), home (white ep)
for fans of: thrice; o' brother; manchester orchestra

i wish you could see inside my head, to answer all of the questions that you have ~ inside my head

band: the swellers
album: good for me
what i think: happened to see this bands name run across twitter and decided to check em out, i was surprised on how solid this entire album is, as well as, disappointed that it took me this long to find them. it's good pop punk, really good pop punk to be exact. as wide as my music collection taste is, it's nice to have an album that is just drums, guitars and vox that stays upbeat throughout it's entirety.
listen to: runaway; inside my head
for fans of: hot rod circuit; no use for a name; acceptance


ok, that's what i've got for now. feel free to comment any bands that you think i should check out. if you'd like to listen to these albums, i'd suggest the site www.groveshark.com, it's a great site to listen to an entire album without buying it first.

as always, don't download. buy your music!

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i miss you jean jean

i don't really plan on making sad posts a common thing, but this one is going to be one. well, maybe not sad per se but a bit of a downer. this is an open letter to jeanna, a close friend/sister that i lost back in march. i still don't think i've fully come to grasp that i won't see her again, even months later. i miss you jean jean. lately you've been on my mind more and more and i felt compelled to write all of this down.

to understand how close we are (i don't think i'll ever be able to use the past tense), i've known her since i was 12 and she was my best friend's sister so basically my sister. the entire brown family is my family. i send mother and father's day cards to them and always stop in during the holidays even if it's only for a little while.

i got a call while i was in nashville on march 9th, jeanna had her baby boy cameron! i was excited for her and even more excited that i already had a trip to town planned for that weekend so i'd be able to visit her. on the way back from nashville on friday i got the call...jean jean had passed away from an aneurysm thursday night. my sister had died giving birth to a child she wanted more than anything.

dear jean jean,

i miss you, i miss not being able to tell you about my life and what's going on. i miss the advice and the encouragement you always gave me. you'd be happy to know that i've met an amazing girl that makes me really happy. you always worried about me finding someone because of how unhealthy my past couple of relationships were but no worries here. i think you'd have liked her a lot, more than just the fact that she makes me visibly happier but you two could have bonded over your love of dogs and corny jokes. we re-connected (we've known each other for a while) the friday after your funeral, so i like to think that was maybe your last little gift for me.

i'm finally making the necessary preparations to move back to charlotte, like you always asked EVERY TIME we talked haha. haven't been able to find a job yet but it's still really early in the process. i'll be excited to be back up in nc and closer to mere, ml and mark and hopefully be able to stop in and see cameron from time to time. mere puts up a lot of pictures on facebook and he looks a lot like you, definitely has your temperament...all smiles, all the time.

mark and i are still talking a lot, i'm trying to keep him in some resemblance of order but he misses you tons. the starting line are officially back together so hopefully that means he'll be going back on the road doing what he loves again soon. the week of your funeral, i didn't leave his side, i tried to be strong for him, as best as i could. we talked a lot about the beach trip back in july and i'm so glad i got to come up for a couple days. we laughed for a good while about how long and to the extent you went to find me those cheerwine donuts...that i could barely even eat haha.

i'm glad our last conversation centered around how great of a mother you were going to be to cameron and for those 8 hours, you were the greatest mother he'll ever know. i miss you, a lot. a lot more than i'll ever admit out loud i guess but here, hiding behind the internet and a keyboard, i can say it. you know me...too stubborn to admit weakness, even when it's not really a weakness.

this was our last picture together. no idea why i'm the center of it (it was your wedding haha) but even from only seeing the side of your face, i know you're smiling. i love and miss you jean jean.

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punching writer's block in the throat

so if you've ever had to deal with writer's block, you know how much it sucks. constantly wanting to write something down, to get your emotions on paper but every time you try nothing comes to mind...it's one of the worst feelings. writing, even my crappy songs, keeps me from going insane because otherwise, i don't talk about my emotions...ever. ask the gf how hard it is to get me to talk, she'll back me up on that last statement.

so maybe some of you are wondering, so what? you can't write, what's the big deal? it's not like it's your day job or something. well writing is my therapy and writer's block keeps me from having said therapy so things start building up, it's not good. and once things start building up, my brain does this weird thing where it'll take the smallest negative thought and run through a list of hypotheticals and then take those hypotheticals of the hypotheticals and it turns into a vicious cycle to where i end up getting worried/stressed about something that'll probably never happen. yea........i'm strange. i wish i could stop that, but it's gotten a lot worse as i've gotten older.

this isn't to say that i just run around all day in a conflicted state where i can't say anything but when i really want to write, and i mean really want to write, it's when it hits. so too combat this crippling writer's block, i've thought of a couple of techniques i'm gonna try.


1. stop censoring myself
i'm sure this seems odd, but even when i'm just writing for writing's sake, i censor myself constantly. i worry about being too blunt because i don't want the person i'm writing about to hear it (assuming its a song i send out to the interwebz) and feel bad. but i need to stop and just write exactly how i'm feeling and if need be, apologize later. i do a pretty good job of not holding grudges (unless you're one of the exes that cheated on me, then you can eff off)so it wouldn't necessarily be how i feel about that person overall, just at that time.
2. write a story
this is the one that i'm most excited about. when i say story, i don't mean a novel or anything but before i start on a song, write down a plot line, characters and emotions i want to portray. then maybe add in environment details (i.e. type of town, description of the scenery). Writing the story from the outside in and not necessarily trying to write down my personal feelings could help out a lot when i do NEED to write down my thoughts/emotions.

3. learn other songs
i use to learn other artist's songs all of the time but in the past couple of years, i've stopped. i need to start this up again. this will just lighten up some of the pressure i put on myself and will also help with ideas for chord progressions, melodies, etc...

i don't know if any of these will work but they're worth a shot. i want to be able to express whatever emotion i may be feeling so i'm not always holding it in...fingers crossed!

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